Mortgage rules protect the dream

11:51 PM,
Jan. 8, 2014

Written by

Richard Cordray

Let me tell you a common story I hear. It starts with a woman in 2005 or 2006 who took out a mortgage to buy her first home. After two years, her teaser interest rate expired. Her monthly payments doubled, so she could no longer afford them.

When she sought help from her lender, she found a different company, a mortgage servicer, was handling the loan. When she tried to contact the servicer to figure out a way to save her home, she got passed from one representative to another, each giving conflicting information about her options. She sent in the same paperwork multiple times. Finally, she thought ...